Fish Oil

It just sounds nasty. 

And I can tell you...it doesn't taste much better than it sounds.

But, I credit these yucky tasting, clingy smelling, greasy, expensive pills with helping Cooper battle verbal apraxia one stinky dose at a time.

I'm writing this particular post in response to a mom who emailed me last week after finding our family blog on google.  She wanted to know how I manage to get fish oil into Cooper and if it seems to help him.

I accidentally deleted that mom's email...so I hope she checks back to find this....

Fish Oil...

Cooper was diagnosed with apraxia just after his 3rd birthday.  Within a matter of weeks of that diagnosis, I decided to try the fish oil (particularly Nordic Naturals ProEFA and ProEPA - which you can find by clicking here).

I was so excited when the fish oils came in the mail.  I had emails beyond emails from other moms talking about these AMAZING language surges their apraxic children had after trying fish oil.  Then our Developmental Pediatrician gave it the green light - so we were excited!

My hope was short lived when Cooper stubbornly refused the oils day after day.  I couldn't really blame him.  They were nasty.  And at the time, we weren't in a good place.  Cooper was 3 and he couldn't talk.  He was so frustrated with everything.  Torturing him by holding him down and making him take fish oil just didn't seem like the right thing to do at the time since so much of his life was already hard.

I backed off.

Instead, we increased his speech therapy and he started school at the city preschool where he received speech services as well.

Improvements were made.  His language, word count and articulation all increased.  His play skills improved.

But then around June, we noticed that Cooper's improvements had plateaued.  We hadn't seen any real changes in awhile. 

About that time, I got a progress report from his SLP that was so upsetting I had to take a day off work.  It put Cooper in the 1st percentile for articulation.  The 1st.  Sigh.  All that work...for what?  The 1st percentile????

That's when I decided to give the fish oils another shot.  I was determined.  Judge me all you want, but every single morning, I would crack open a big Pepsi, plop Coop up on the counter and let him swig away in between doses (2 EFA's and 1 EPA) of fish oil.

The results were...well, stunning. 

It was really the articulation that improved the most. 

He started powering through letters and sounds at speech.   He improved so much that many of his goals at speech and at school had to be reworked because he had mastered them all ahead of schedule.

So the answer is....Yes, fish oil has been like a missing link to Cooper's communication.

And if you want to see the miracle for yourself....

This is a video of Cooper taken just after his 3rd birthday.  It was a few days before he was diagnosed with apraxia.  It's painful, when I look back, to see how much he was struggling to talk.

 

 

Fast Forward....7 months.  Cooper was 3 months shy of his 4th birthday.  He had spent the year getting lots of Prompt therapy with our miracle working SLP, Elizabeth.  And look at the results he had (just from therapy alone).

 And now...a similar interview done 6 months after that.  This was shot a few days ago.

 

 Wow!  I am so blown away every time I watch it.  Excuse me while I blot my eyes. 

So, dear mother who am I writing this for...I hope this note does find you.  I'm sorry for deleting your email.  The fish oils have helped Cooper tremendously.  And NOTHING would have been possible without the right therapies and therapist. 

Good luck to you :)  The first months after diagnoses were the hardest for us.  After that, it's just one improvement after the next to look forward to.

 

 

Comments

[jen]

so amazing!! yay for the preschool (and fish oil too :)

[Tammy]

Good for you for not giving up on the fish oil! So cool to see Cooper's progress.

P.S. Emma watched the videos with me and when he said he was four, she yelled at the screen, "Hey .. me too Cooper!! Imagine that!" :)

[Erica]

I am constantly blown away at what Cooper has overcome and had to struggle with. What an amazing heart and willpower your little Coop has! Gretchen, I applaud you guys for all that you do, and are doing!

[Nicolle]

So proud of Cooper's accomplishments. I am also thrilled that Cooper has a devoted and determined mama. You are the best!

xoxo Tia Nicolle

[Rachael]

Wow, what progress! Way to go Cooper! :D

[Christina]

Cooper, you and your mommy are knocking my socks off right now. I am sockless! Keep up the good work!!! You are rocking my sockless world :) And one day soon, my little man Wesley is going to knock everybody's socks off, too! Thank you so much for sharing your accomplishments, your fears and your devotion. Your little man is an inspiration :)

[Katie]

Hi, I happened to find your website from a google search. I cannot believe your son's progress and when I watch those videos they remind me so much of my own son. I have not met anyone else with a child with verbal apraxia and from reading your blog it seems like we have two little boys with alot in common. I would love to be able to contact you to ask a bunch of questions. But I cannot seem to get your email link to work. Can you email me? My address is katiekerrigan@yahoo.com.

[merril lundgren]

Hi there,
My name is Merril and my almost 3 yo son has verbal apraxia. We started him on Nordic Naturals Pro EFA (which has a lemon flavor) liquid within a month of his diagnosis. This is what I did to get him to take it. I melted 2 tablespoons of vanilla ice cream, mixed in the teaspoon of oil and then refroze it in the freezer. It was his dessert after lunch. Since it's an oil, I thought that mixing it with any juice wouldn't work- it wouldn't emulsify and would instead mostly stick to the sides of the cup (at $30 a bottle!!). The fat in the ice cream did the trick and it gave the vanilla ice cream a citrusy flacor and the oily texture was masked. We were able to stop doing this and eventually give it to him straight. He calls it his yum yum. I'm amazed, because I can't stomach the taste/texture. Email me at mlundgren@verizon.net if you (or anyone) would like a buddy in this "adventure" we're all on. Best wishes!

[Wendy]

Wow - I just found your blog through a Google search and I am so excited to read about Cooper's progress! I have a 2 1/2 yr. old son who was just diagnosed with speech apraxia - he's been going to Columbus Speech & Hearing for a year now (in TLC), and we are starting 2x/week private therapy in a couple weeks. Love, love, love it there. I am also thinking about calling Nationwide Children's Hospital - I'm wondering who you see there and if you would recommend them. Spencer just got diagnosed last week so we are at the beginning of the journey. It's scary & overwhelming, and seeing Cooper's video really motivated me - hopefully all my hard work and research will pay off, as your's did! Thank you!

[Jerusha]

I too just came across your blog. My son, adopted from China eight months ago, appears to have apraxia. He is currently 21 months. If you get this, I would appreciate your emailing me with specifics about the fish oil! jgstaggs@hotmail.com